Ch 7.1-7.2 Flashcards
self concept
self idenntity
sum of individual’s knowledge and understanding of his or herself
how individual defines herself based on beliefs the person has about herself
how someone thinks about perceives or even evaluates themselves
to be self aware is to have a self concept
self conciousness
awareness of one’s self
self concept vs conciousness
concept includes physical, physiological and social attributes which can be influenced by one’s individual attitudes , habits, beliefs and ideas
self schemas
beliefs the person has about hersellf
two types of identity
personal
social
personal identity
one’s own sense of personal attriubutes
ex of personal identity
smart and funny
social identity
social definitions of who you are include race, religion, gender, occupation and such
ex of social identity
female, white student, doctor
different aspects of one’s identity
ADRESSING each letter diifferent characteristic age disability status religion ethnicity or race sexual orientation socioeconomic class indigenous background national origin gender
gender is a
socially constructed conecpt while sex is biologically determined
each aspect of one’s identity has a
dominant group as well a less dominant group in society
consistency with one’s self concept
old info consistent easy to remember
new info that consistent with schemas incorporated
inconsistent info more difficult
self reference effect
tendency to better remember info relevant to ourselves
adjusting self concepts
it is easier to externalize new info that opposes self concept by attributing it to a outside factor than it is to internalize the info and adjust one’s self concept
ex regarding hard to adjust self concept
attribution bad test scores to fatigue or unfair test for someone who considers themselves smart
positive and negative self concepts
+: people tend to act mre positively and optimistic perceptions of the world
-: people feel fallen short disatisfied and unhappy
Carl Rogers
founder of humanistic psychoogy perspective
unique approach to understanding personality and human relationships
According to rogers, personality is composed of
ideal self and real self
ideal self
constructed out of your life experiences, social expectations and the things you admire about role models
person you ought to be
real self
person you actually are
when ideal self and real self are
similar, you get a positive self concept
incongruity
the result of when the real self falls short of th ideal self since the ideal self is usually an impossible standard to meet
three powerful influences on indiviudual’s development of self concept
self efficacy, locus of control , self esteem
self efficacy
belief in one’s competence and effectiveness
how capablle we believe we are at doing things
performance and self efficacy
studies show that simply believing we can do something improves performance
can vary from task to task
people may have high self efficacy for math but low efficacy for basketball
locus of control
cna be external or internal
internal locus of control
beleive they are able to influence outcomes thru their own efforts and actions
external locus of control
perceive outcomes as controlled by extrnal forces
ex of internal vs external locus
someone with internal locus may attribute strong grade to his or her intelligence and hard work someone with external locus assumes the test was especially easy or he got lucky
extreme situation leading to helplessness
when people exposed to situations in which they have no control may learn not to act because they believe it will not affect the outcome
even once situation passes, find in arena where they can exert some control, the lack of action may persist
learned helplessness
a condition in which a person suffers from a sense of powerlessness, arising from a traumatic event or persistent failure to succeed. It is thought to be one of the underlying causes of depression
belief in internal locus
can be empowering and lead to proactivity
external locus belief
control and learned helplessness are characteristics of many depressed and oppressed people
self esteem
one’s overall self evaluation of one’s self worth
may be based on diff factors depending on the individuasla nd which parts of identiy he or she has determined to be most importat
self esteem related to self efficacy
self efficacy can improve self eseem if one has it for an activity one values, if activity not valued may not help self esteem
low self esteem increases
risk of anxiety, depresison, drug use and suicide
inflated self esteem
may be used to conceal inner insecurities
unrealistic self esteem
to either extreme can be painful
identity formation
aka individuation
development of distinct individual personality
Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial devlopment
include series of crises and conflicts experienced thru a lifetime that help to define and shape identity
Erikson: particular stage relevant to identity formation
takes place during adolescene ( 12-20) Identity veruss role confusion stage
in identity vs role confusion
adolescents try to figure out who they are and form basic identities that they build on thru the rest of their lies
some theories posit in order to establish identity
individual has to explore various possibilities and make committments to occupation, religion, sexual orientation and political values
Charles Cooley
proposed idea of looking glass self
people shape their self concepts based on their understanding of how others perceve them
looking glass self
person’s sense of self develops from interpersonal interactions with others in society and perceptions of others
begins at early age and continues thru life we can never stop modifying unless all social interactions increase
George Hubert MEad
developed the idea of social behaviorism
social behaviorism:
mind and self emerge thru process of communicating with others
beginning of symbolic interactionism
idea mind and self emerge thru social process of communication or use of symbols
Mead beleved there
is a specific path to development of self
During prepatory stage
children imitate others , have no concept of how others see things
play stage
children take on roles of others thru playing such as playing house and taking on role of mom
game stage
childrenlearn to consider multiple simultaneously and can understand the responsibilities of multiple roles
child develops understanding
of generalized other, common behavioral expectations of general society
MEad : me
how individual believes the generalized perceives it
defined as social self
self as object
MEad: I
response to the ke
response of the individual to the atttudes of others
self as subject
socialization
process thru which people learn to be proficient and functional members of society
lifelong sociological process where people learn attitudes, values and beliefs that are reinforced by a particular culture
older adults socialization
involves teaching younger generation their way of life
younger children socialization
predominantly involves incorporating info from their surrounding cultures as they form their personalities ( patterns for how they think and feel)
socialization and culture
socialization allows a culture to pass on its values from one generation to the next
occurs thru socializing interacting with others in society
importance of social contact
shown thru Harlow’s monkeys which were extremely deprived from infancy and were therefore unable to reintegrate with other monkeys
Feral children
individuals who were not raised with human contact or care and a large part of our understanding about the importance of socialization is derived from what has been learned about their experiences and terriple consequences of growing up without proper care and contact
norms
spoken or unspoken rules and expectations for the behavior of the society’s members
normative behavior
social behaviors which follow expectations and meet the ideal social standard
reinforced by sanctions
sanctions
rewards and punishments for behaviors that are in accord with or against norms
ex of normative behavior
in some cultures it is considered norm to offer your food to others when eating in a public place
norms can be classified as
formal
informal
formal norms
generally written down
precisely defined, publicly presented and often accompanied by strict penalties for those who violate them
ex of formal norms
laws
informal norms
generally understood but are less precise and often carry no specific punishment
ex of informal norms
one is greeting an interviewer witha hand shake
Mores
norms that are highly important for benefit of society and are often strictly enforced
ex Mores
animal abuse and treasons are actions that break mores in US and carry harsh penalties
FOlkways
norms that are less important but shape everyday behavior
ex folkways
styles of dress, ways of greeting
strong relationship between
formal norms and mores
informal norms and folkways but not complete
lack of strong enforcement for a formal norm suggests that it is not that important and is a folkway
taboo
behaviors that customs forbid
endorsement of norm is so strong that violation is considered forbidden and oftentimes punishable thru formal or non formal methods
taboo behavors result
in disgust towards violator
often moral or religious component to taboo and violation poses threat of divine puenalties
ex taboo
muslims denounce the consumption of pork thus in muslim countries eating such products would be taboo
anomie
concept that descrbes social condition in which individuals are not provided with firm guidelines in relation to norms and values and there is minimal moral guidance or social ethic
state of normlessnness
normative effects of social values contribute
to social cohesion and social norms are involved in maintaining order
Emile Durkeheim
used anomie to explain differences in suicide rates between catholics and protestants ]research suggested suicide rates were lower in cultures which valued communal ties, as this provided a form of support duirng times of emotional distress
Anomie is characteristic
of societies where social coesion is less pronounced
more likely to occur in societies where individualism and autonomous decision making predominate even at the expense of the greater social order
anomie suggests
disintegration of social bonds between individuals and their communities, which causes the fragmentation of social identities in exchange for emphasis on personal sucess
discrepancies between
personal and social values are thought to contribute to moral deregulation
non normative behavior
viewed as incorrect because it challenges shared values and institutions thus threatening social structure and cohesion
seen as abnormal and discouraged
deviance
actions which violate dominant social norms, whether formal or informal
in some cases these behaviors are seen as criminal when it violates public policies
ex of construction of deviance
process of creating deviant labels affirms and reinforces social norms and values thru dichotomous presntation of acceptable normative behavior and unacceptable non normative behavor
diff between normal and deviant behavior
is maintained thru punishment of trangressions thru both formal and informal methods such as a means of criminal justice and unofficial social processes
deviance is
social construct
no behaviors in which deviance is inherent, situational and contextual
non normative behavior is considered
acceptable in some cases such as warfare and self defense and unacceptable in other cases
important to consider the differences in cross cultural commuication and cultural meanings of behaviors in assessing appropiatness
deviance in context of health care
individuals experiencing illness are considered deviant because condition violates conforming behavior and threatens social cohesion thru limiting the individual\s social contributions
according to functionalist perspective
Edwin Sutherland’s differential association
argues that deviance is a learned behavior resulting from interactions between individuals and their communities
process of learning deviance Sutherland
involves learning the techniques of deviant behaviors as well as the motives and values that rationlaize these behvaviors and is no different than other learning processes
principal source of exposure
individual’s closest personal groups whether formal groups such as professional business associates or informal groups such as gangs
individualès personal groups determine
specific behaviors learned ( ex corporate organized crime such as fraud, insider trading or tax evasion vs gang related offenses such as vandalism or violence
when individual participates in communities which condone
deviant behaviors, it becomes easier for the individual to learn these behaviors and become deviant themselves
extent of learning deviant behaviors
dependent on certain features such as the intensity and frequency of the interactions
in social situations it is inevitable that individuals will encounter others with
both favourable and unfavourable views of deviance
sutherlat posits individual will become deviants with their contacts with favourable attitudes towards deviance outweighs their contacts with unfavourable attitudes
development of self concept 2 parts
existential self
categorical self
existential self
most basic part of self concept
a sense of being separate and distinct from others
We are each separate and distinct entities or objects from others, from other objects, from other people
existential self is understanding and having awareness that the self is constant. So it doesn’t change in life; it’s pretty constant throughout life
self-concept
consistent or constant
categorical self
omes once this baby realizes that they are separate. So it’s becoming aware that even though we’re separate and distinct objects or entities or beings, we also exist in the world. We exist with other objects and beings and entities, in that, each of these objects has properties.
two of the first categories that young children categorize themselves
age and gender
in early childhood, these categories that children apply
themselves to are very concrete.
eventually as they grow older, as we grow older, we start to categorize ourselves by including some
more internal psychological traits
we start to compare ourselves. We start to make evaluations with other people. We start to categorize ourselves maybe by our careers or by the type of person that we want to be. So these are more developed categories
Carl Rogers believed that the self-concept had three different components
self image
self esteem
ideal self
Self-image
the view we have of ourselves. So there we are. It’s what we believe we are.
self-esteem
How much value do we place on ourselves, and I’m going to put a little heart here to kind of represent that, so how much love do we give ourselves, how much do we love ourselves? How much value do we place on ourselves?
ideal self.
what we wish to be. What we aspire to be
Social Identity theory has two parts
personal identity
social identity
personal identity
pretty self-explanatory, so this is the things that are unique to each person, like personality traits
social identity
these include the groups you belong to in our community.
mental process involved in social identity theory involves three steps
first, all humans categorize themselves
second step is identification
final step is social comparison
categorizing themselves
We all categorize our, ourselves without even knowing it. We actually do this entire amount of mental process
we categorize ourselves in order to understand objects and identify them. So we categorized people into groups
Ones to which we belong and ones that are different from us
not all people belong in one category, we can belong to multiple different categories
identification
this is when we adopt the identity of the group we have categorized ourselves as to belonging
emotional significance to identification, because our self-esteem, which we talked about up here, starts to become bound with this group identification and sense of belonging
ex of identification
f we’ve categorized our yourselves as students, the chances are we’re gonna eventually adopt the identity of a student. We’re gonna start acting like a student and behaving like a student. So this role starts to feel like a norm. We’re starting to conform to the norm of the group, the category we belong to
emotional comparison
We’re always comparing ourselves to others, all the time, subconsciously, consciously whatever it is. So once we categorize and identify, we’re going to eventually start comparing ourselves with other groups. We’re comparing other groups with other groups. And the reason we do this is to maintain our self-esteem. We want to compare ourselves to other groups in a favorable way. And this whole idea is actually very critical in understanding prejudice.
criticism of differential association
idea that individuals are reduced to their environments; instead of considering perople as independent, rational actors with personal motivations, his perspective suggests that deviant behavior is learned from oneès enviroment without choice
fails to consider individual characteristics and experiences and how these considerations affect a personès reaction to deviant influences in current surroundings
Howard Becker labeling theory
deviance is a result of societyès response to person rather than something inherent in the personès actions; behaviors become deviant thru social processes
one of the most important theories for understanding from a social perspective
assumption of becker labeling theory
act itself is not deviant for intrinsic moral reasons
use of negative labels becker
can have serious consequences for both our perception of the deviant person and the personès self perception
self fulfilling prophecies
because of societal preoccupation with labels, individual might begin to exhibit more deviant behaviors to fulfill the expectations associated with specific ascribed labels in the form of conforming behavior
negative labels effect on individuals
ind.ls might internalize labels and redefine their concept of self, which can lead to self fulfilling prophecies
since deviance is a social construct
there is no absolute set of characteristics that are viewed as deviant, instead deviance is contextual
across same social context , there are often double standards
same behavior may be viewed as acceptable in one group and unacceptable in another
labelling theory is often used in
interactionist arguments
because deviance is viewed as a social construct
labelling usually occurs
from the dominant groups majorities labelling subordinate groups minorities
also concerns conflict theorists those with most power impose labels on those with least power
social structures and dominant groups
social structures allow dominant groups the power to enforce the boundaries of normal behavior and thus define the differences thru legal policies
agents of social control
groups which have the ability to attach stigmas to certain behaviors
creation of stigmas
reinforces power structures and heirarchies inherent in most societies and serves to limit deiiant behavior
labelling also satisfies social need to control behaviors and maintain order
criticism of labelling theory
deviance is assumed to be an automatic rocess: individuals are seen to be influenced thru use of labels which ignores their abilities to resist social expectations
Robert MErton structural strain theory
perspective purports that deviance is result of experienced strain, either individual or structural
modern societies have shared perceptions of ideal life ( social goals) and accepted means of achieving goals
Mertonès specifications
expanded off of Durkheiès research
specified anomie as the state in which there is a mismatch between common social goals and structural or instructionalized means of obtaining these goals
in this state individuals experience social strain because existing social structures are inadeuate and there is pressure to use devian methods to prevent failure
when social means and goals are balanced, deviance is not expected
ex of Mertonès structural strain theory
economic success is common goal for most individuals and societies and legitimate means for obtaining this goal include continued education and professional positions that compensate well However in US it is known there is not equal access to resources among social groups individuals born into lower class families have less financial resources available to obtain an education result is structtural strain which leadss to deviance include using deviant methods of reaching economic success
criticism of stuctural strain theory
some deviant behaviors and criminal behaviors persist in excess that are non utilitarian
Merton perspective applicable to fraud and theft and in cases where economic structure is not serving individuals as best as possible means of earning not best option for goal of obtaining financial assets
less applicable to deviant behaviors that are malicious and violent in natures such as forms of sexual assault
perspective is more applicable to material , rather than social , goals
collective behavior
third form of social behavior in addition to normative or conforming behaviors and non normative or deviant behaviors
social norms for the situation are absent or unclear
describes actions of people operating as a collective group
relatively spontaneous and relatively unstructured behavior by large numbers of individuals acting with or being influenced by other individuals
collective vs group behavior
collect: more short lived and less conventional values influence groupès behavior and guidelines for membership
Relatively spontaneous
means that the behavior is somewhat spontaneous but also somewhat planned
relatively unstructured
means that the behavior is somewhat organized and predictable but also somewhat unorganized and unpredictable
ex of collective and group behaviro
ex of coll behavior, do not reflect existing social structure unlike group behavior but are instead spontaneous situations in which individuals engage in actions that are otherwise unacceptable and violate social norms
in collective behavior
there is loss of individual and independent moral judgment in exchange for the sense of a group
can be destructive in the example of mobs and riots
harmless such as in fads depending on diverse episode
importance of understanding collective behavior
limits negative consequences
Hubert Blumer
sociologist whose ideas were foundational i understanding collective behavior
four main forms of collective behavior
crowds
publics
masses
social movement
crowd
defined as a group that shares a purpose
most agreed upon ex of collective behavior and most common in modern life
thought to be emotional , can lead to loss of rational thought
herd behavior
non permanent loss of rational thought and the crowd influences individual behaviros
crowds can be classified
based on their specific intention acting casual conventional expressive
acting crowd
gather for a specific goal or cause
casual crowd
emerge spontaneously and include people who are not really interacting such as waiting in line for something
conventional crowd
gatehred for a planned event such as football fans
expressive crowd
aggregate to express tehir emotion for ex funeral attenders
crowds can be further classified based on the closeness of individuals
compact or dffuse crowds
crowds can be classified on the emotions caused
fear in panic , happiness in craze and anger in hostile outburst
panic
situation in which fear escalate to the point that it dominates thinkin and thus affects entire groups like during disaster situations
mob
specific example of a crowd in which emotion is heightened and behavior is directed toward a specific and violent cause
can include lynching
public
group of individuals discussing a single issue which conflicts with common usage of the term
begins as discussion and ceases as discussion ceases
people in publics share ideas
mass
group whose formation is prompted thru efforts of mass media
consist of relatively large number of people who may not be in close proximity but share common interests
social movement
defined as collective behavior with the intention of promoting change
2 categories of social movements
active
expressive
active
attempt to foster social change such as revolutions
expressive
attempt to foster individual change ex support groups
forms of social movements
global or local ( range)
old and new ( origin )
peaceful or violent ( method)
etc
fad
aka craze
ex of collective behavior in which 1. something experiences a rapid and dramatic incline in reputation 2. remains popular among a large population for a brief period and 3. experiences a rapid and dramatic decline in reputation
enthusiasm for a particular thing is driven thru
methods such as peer pressure and socialmedia and thru actors such as perrs and famous celebrities
trends
longer lived and often lead to permanent social changes such as th hippie movement created visible trens such as peach signs but also promoted widespread social change
mass hysteria
diagnostic label that refers to collective delusion of some threat that spreads thru emotions such as fear and escalates until it spirals out of control such as panic
mass hysteria is the result of
public reactions to stressful situations such as medical problems
collective behaviors in stressful behavior
is often irrational as a result of emotional excesses and thus mass hysteria can be described as a form of groupthink
outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics
cases involve an unexpected increase in incidence of infectious disease in a given region with outbreaks being the most limited and pandemics being most wide spread
in context of medical problems, might be spontaneous spread of related diseases
those affected might manifest similar medical
symptoms, such as fatigure, headaches or nausea
these popular signs are also connected to high levels of stress
in most cases illness cannot be linked to an external source such as an infectious agent
well known historic epidemic
Bubonic plague
extent of dangerous H1N1
reached pandemic proportions, spreading across the world
moral panic
specific form of manic as a result of a perceived threat to social order, which lead to numerous executions
mass hysteria ex
Salem witch trials where prosecutions and trials began as the result of a group of adolescent girls experiencing fits that were thought to exceed the power of common epileptic fits
riots
third ex of collective behavior
form of crowd behavor
not specifc end
three ex of collective behavior
fads
mass hysteria
riots
most riots occur
as the result of general dissatisfaction with social conditions as shown in prison riots
in general collective behavior is thought to be
irrational
riots are not
iirational because there are examples where source of dissatisfaction is less political and more fundamental such as lack of basic needs thru hunger riots
riots consequences Arab spring
revolution that included riots begain in TUnisia and spread across teh arab world causing civil uprisings that contributed to eventual fall of govs
power of riots increased public attention and participation due to mass media coverage which were once intended to conceal identities and offer protection such as facemasks have grown to be iconic
onset of riots
in general riots are chaotic and disorganized due to sudden onset
increase in criminal behaviors such as vandalism and violence
target of destruction cna be private and public properties depending ons ource of grievance
more ex of collective behavior
fashions, rumors and social movements
six agents of socialization
family school peers workplace religion mass media
family
lifelong process of socialization begins shortly after birth driven by family members
first relationships famly members teach chilldren customs , beliefs and traditions of their cultures thru instruction andmodelling
school
explicitly teach children norms and values of their culture
accentuates intellectual, physical and social strengths that society endorses and affects childrenès self identities
reinvforce divisive aspects of socity because quality and availability of schooling is influenced by socioeconomic status
peer groups
family becomes less important in social devlopmenta and peer groups become more significant
fashion, style of speech, gender role identity, sexual activity, drug or alcohol use and other behaviors are affected y peers and by influence of heirarchies such as popularity
workplace
people spend good portion of time at work
influences behavior thru wrtten codes and rules as well as thru informal norms
pressure to fit in often alterès behavior and occupation can also be large part of oneès identity
religion
both gov and organized religion influence course of cultural change by creating rites of passage
religion: include traditional milestones and celebrations including coming to age and marriage
gov sets legal ages for drinking, voting, joining the military and so on
laws both influenc enad are influenced by societies they apply to
mass media
extend influence to everyone
impact of television on culturethru displays of sex, violence and impossibe to achieve ideals has been much debated
intro of cultures and lifestyles
internet shrink world and increase social influences
two possible outcomes of interactions between multiple cultures in same space
assimilation
amlgamation
assimilation
process in which an individual foresakes aspects of his or her cultural tradition to adopt those of a different culture
generally indivdiual is member of minority group who is trying to conform to the culture of the dominant group
in order to assimilate, members of the minority group
may work to make great personal sacrifices such as changing their spoken languages , religions and how they dress and their personal values
assimilation does not guarantee one will not be discriminated against
amalgamation
occurs when majority and minority groups combine o form a new group
unique cultural group is formed that is distinct from any of the initial groups
multiculturalism or pluralism
perspective that endorses equal standing for all cultural traditions
promoted idea of cultures coming together in a true melting pot rather than in a heirarchy
each culture is able to maintain its practces
debate of multiculturalism
support: increases diversity and helps empower minority groups
opponent: encourages segregation over unity by maintaining physical and social isolation and hinder cohesiveness of a society
subculture
segment of society that shares a distinct pattern of traditions and values that differ from that of the larger society
culture existing with in a large dominant culture
members of a subculture
participate in many activities of the larger culture but also have unique behaviors and specific to subculture
including unique slang
countercultural backlash
opposition of views widely accepted within a society
moral devlopment is
an important aspect of socialization and identity formation
Lawrence Kohlberg
expanded on Piagnetès theory of moral development in children
Kohlberg stages of moral development
inlcude 6 stages which are grouped into 3 levels with 2 stages each
stages cannot be skipped
Kohlberg stages
each stage provides a new and necessary moral perspective and understanding from each stage is retained and integrated at later stages
interestingly, most adults attain but do not surpass the fourth stage in which morality is dictated by outside forces ( laws, rules , social obligation)
few people attain post conventional level of moral reasoning
Level 1
preconventional level of moral reasoning
morality judged by direct consequences to the self ( no internalization of riht and wrong
typical of children
level 2
conventional level of moral reasoning: morality judged by comparing actions to societyès views and expectations ( acceptance of conventional definitions of right and wrong
typical of adolescene and adults
level 3
post conventional level of moral reasoning
morality judged by internal ethical guidelines; rules viewed as useful but malleable guidelines
many people never reach this abstract level of moral reasoning
Stage 1
obedience and punishment orientation
individuals focus on the direct consequences to themselves of their actions
How can I avoid punishment?
Stage 2
self interest orientation
individuals focus on behavior that will be in their best interest with limited interest in the needs of others
What is in it for me?
Stage 3
interpersonal accord and conformity
individual focus on approval and disapproval of others and try to be good by living up to expectations ( what will make others like me )
Stage 4
authority and social order maintaining orienatio n
beyond a need for individual approval, feel duty to uphold laws, rules and social convention
What am I supposed to do
Stage 5
social contract orientation
individual sees laws as social contracts to be changed when they do not promote general wellfare
greatest good for the greatest number of people
Stage 6
Universal ethical principles
morality is based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical principles; laws only valid if they are grounded in justice
Attribution theory
rooted in social psycology and attempts to explain how infividual view behavior, both their own and that of others
individuals attribute behavior to
internal ( dispositional attribution) external causes (situational attribution)
ex of dispositional attribution
imagine you are driving and someone cuts you off
dispositional attritution because driverès behavior is attributed to an internal cause ( he is a jeerk)
ex of situational attribution
if you think wow that driver must be in a hurry because of an emergency
this would be situational attribution
people tend to assign
dispositional attributions to others while you give yourself the benefit of situational attribution
three factors that influence decision of whether we attribute behavior to internal or external causes
consistency
distinctiveness
consensus
angry friend scenario consistency
is anger consistent with how your friend normally acts
if it is then you might explain it with internal causes ( dispositional) if not you might think there are external factors ( situational)
angry friend scenario distinctiveness
is your friend angry towards everyone or just towards you
if your friend is angry towards everyone, the cause likely has to do with your dad
if your friend is just angry toward you it may be situational perhaps you did something irritating
angry friend scenario consensus
is your friend the only one angry or is everyone angry
if your friend is the only one angry it is more likely that the anger has to do with your friend disposable
if everyone is angry, it might be situational such as the team lost the playoffs
fundamental attribution error
that we tend to underestimate impact of situation and overestimate the impact of a person’s character or personality
we tend to assume that people are how they act
ex of fundamental attribution error
we are more likely to think that a driver who cuts us off is a jerk in general rather than assuming that the driver acted in that way because he has to rush to the hospital to be with his ailing mother
actor observer bias
tendency to blame our actions on the situation and blame the actions of others on their personalities
self serving bias
tendency to attribute successes to ourselves and your failures of others or the external environment
ex of self serving bias
if we perform well academically it is because we are smart and worked hard
if we perform poorly academically it is because the test was unfair or the teacher graded too hard
people tend to give themselves
much more credit than they give others
we are wired to perceive ourselves favorably
optimism bias
belief that bad things willl happen to other people but not us
we have a tendency to be optimistic
and want to believe the world is a good place
we want to believe that life can be predictable and that actions
we want to believe the world is
fair which also impacts how we think of others
just world phenomenon
tendency to believe that the world is fair and people get what they deserve
when bad things happen to others it is the result of their actions or their failure to act not because sometimes bad things happen to good people
similarly , when good things happen to us, it is because we deserve it
halo effect
halo error
tendency to believe humans have inherently good or bad natures rather than looking at individual characteristics
our overall impression of a person
influenced by how we feel or think about his character
ex of overall impression of person
overall impression of neighbor might be he s nice, therefore , you make other assumptions about him he must be a good dad
physical attractiveness stereotype
specific type of halo effect
people tend to rate attractive individual more favorably for personality traits and characteristics than they do those who are less attractive
cultural influences influencing attributions
western endorse you can do anything you put your mind to
poeple more internal attributions for sucess and failure
East asian external attribution
ysstem is scrutinized more than an individual
social perception
involves the understanding of others in our social world; it is the initial info and process about other people in order to try to understand their mindsets and intentions
social cognition
ability of the brain to store and process info regarding social perception
social perception is the process which
responsible for our judgments and impressions about other people, and allows us to recognize how others impact us and predict how they might behave in given situations
rely upon social perception and cognition to
interpret a range of socially relevant info such as verbal and non verbal communication, tone, facial expressions and an understanding of social relationships and social goals present in situations
false consensus
occurs when we assume that everyone else agrees with what you do ( even though they may not )
projection bias
assume others have the same beliefs we do
stereotypes
oversimplified ideas about groups of people , based on characteristics ( race, gender, sexual orientation, religion , disability )
can be positive ( X group is successful because they are hard workers ) or negative ( Y group is poor because they are lazy)
prejudice
thoughts , attitudes and feelings someone holds about a group that are not based on actual experience
prejudgment or biased thinking about a group and its members
group biased against can be one defined by
race, age, gender, religion, or any characteristic
prejudice at a subconcious level
when studying individual’s reactions in relation to pleasant and unpleasnat words
discrimination
acting a certain way towards a group
can discriminate against any number of characteristics
affirmative action
policies that take factors like race or sex into consideration to benefit underrepresented groups in admissions or job hiring decisions
attempts to limit discrimination
affirmative action has been used to benefit those believed to be current or past victims of discrimination
reverse discrimination
attempts have been controversial , some have deemed these practices to be discriminating against the majority
racism
prejudices and actions that discriminate based on race or hold one race inferior to another
racism is seen when
dominant or majority group holds a prejudice or engages in discriminaion whether intentional or not against non dominant or minority groups ( usually not white )
sometimes racism is used to describe
discrimination on an ethnic or cultural basis independent of whether these diff are described as racial
institutional discrimination
unjust and discriminatory practices practiced by large organizations that have been codified into operating procedures, processes or institutional objectives
ex of institutional discrimination
don’t ask don’t tell policy which frowned on openly gay men and women n the armed forces
any unequal status
sets te stage for prejudice
some poeple at the top are
motivated to try to justify and maintain differences between themselves and the lower class sometimes using prejudice as a tool
emotion and prejudices
emotion can play role in feeding prejudices
at core of prejudice is fear or frustration
when someone is faced with something intimidating or unknown
especially if it is presumed to be blocking the person from some goal , frustration and hostility are the natural reactions
there is a tendency to want to
direct hostility at someone and history shows the displaced agression often falls on marginalized people
scapegoats
unfortunate poeple at whom displaced agression is directed
when person sees unfamiliar person of another race, emotion processing centers
in the brain become more active automatically
only thru active self monitoring and reflection people are able to inhibit prejudiced responses despite presence of prejudiced feelings
self inhibition
weakens with age so many adults find it hard to inhibit prejudiced thoughts that they may have suppressed during the younger years
brain seeks to categorize and organize data using
similarities
as a short cut
create conceptual categories such as whiet and these conceptualizations can lead to stereotypes both negative and positive
illusory correlation
created between group of people and characteristic based on unique cases phenomenon of perceiving a relationship between variables (typically people, events, or behaviors) even when no such relationship exists
sick and disadvantaged
often face prejudice because other believe they have done something wrong to lead them to be in their position
self fulfilling prophecy
when a person unknowingly causes a prediction to come true, due to the simple fact that he or she expects it to come true.
In other words, an expectation about a subject, such as a person or event, can affect our behavior towards that subject, which causes the expectation to be realized
sterotypes can
lead to behaviors that affirm the original sterotypes
stereotype threat
self fulfilling fear that one will be evaluated based on negative sterotype
situational predicament in which people are or feel themselves to be at risk of conforming to stereotypes about their social group
ethnocentrism
tendency to judge people from another culture by the standards of one’s own culture
evaluation of other cultures according to preconceptions originating in the standards and customs of one’s own culture
ex of favorism for one’s in groups over out groups
cutural relativism
judging another cullture based on its own standards
difficult especially whn values of another culture clash with values of one’s own
group
collection of any number of people as few as 2 who regularly interact and identify with each other, sharing similar norms, values and expectations
groups are often the setting for
social interaction and influence
help clearly define social roles and statuses
primary groups
play more important role in an individual’s life these groups are usually smaller and include those with whom the individual engages with in person, long term emotional ways
secondary groups
larger and more impersonal
may interact for specific reasons for shorter periods of time
primary groups serve
expressve functions meeting emotional needs
secondary group serve
instrumental functions meettng a pragmatic need
in group
group that an individual belongs to and believes to be an integral part of who she is
out group
group individual does not belong to
social identity theory
we categorize other poeple we identify with some of them who we consider our in groups and see differences with others who we consider our out groups
impressions of in group
fvorable because they bolster our self esteem
feels good to have sense of belong and feel positive about the groups you belog to
impressions on out group
different can be seen as worse
negative impressions
negative stereotypes about out groups
when certain groups of people are different
they may be seen as inferior and in groups may engage in sexism, racism , ethnocentrism, heterosexism and other such behaviors
reference group
standard measure that poeple compare themselves to
group size
number of poeple within group has consequences for group relattions
dyad
smallest social group
contains 2 members
1 relationship
dyadic interaction
more intimate and intense than in larger groups because there is no outside competition
requires active participation and cooperation from both members to be stable
dyads can involve
equla or unequal relationships
triad
three members
three relationships
can be more or less stable
possible mmore because one more to mediate tension or less because observed rule two will unite leaving conflict with final group member
aggregate
people who exist in same space but do not interact or sharea sense of common idenityt
category
poeplewho share similar characteristics but are otherwise ot tied togethr
bureaucracy
describe an admin body and processes by which body accomplishes work tasks
rise from advanced division in labor in whihc each worker does his or her small task
tasks are presided over and coordinated by managers
efficiency of bureaucracy
can be very efficient because each member of organizaton has specific role in completing complicated tasks
,Max Weber
considered bur a necessary part of society
utline 5 characeristics of idela bur
5 chars of ideal bur
covers fixed A o activity
heircally organized
workers have expert training in an area of speciality
organizational rank is impersonal and advancement depends on technical qualification, rather than favoritism
workers follow set procedures to increase predictability and efficency
rationalization
process by which tasks are broken down into component parts to be accomplished efficiently by workers within the organization
because workers follow set procedures in completing tasks, it is easy to predict the outcome of the processess
Ford rationalization ex
implemented assembly lines for his auto plants
broke down process of building car to different component parts and assigning assembly of each part to worker
able to have cars efficiently assembled and each car was exactly the same as the ones before it
mcdonaldization
design of mcdonald resturants to produce food quickly
rationalization of fast food production
produce uniform products around all franchises
4 components of rationalization that reflect principles of bureaucracy
efficiency, calculability ( assesing performance thru quantity and or speed of output) , predictabiliity and control ( automating work where possible to make results more predicatble
drawbacks of organizational form of bureaucracy
workers follow set procedures, can cause organization to struggle when adapting to challenges that require it to change its way of coordinating tasks
workers become overly attached to individual taska nd lose sight of organizational misison as a whole
workers may become overly attached to set procedures and not respond flexibly to new challenges on an interpersonal level
paradoxical feature of organizations
organized structure becomes complex and more conservative and less able to adaapt
Iron law of oligarchy
revolutionary organizations inevitably become less revolutionary as their organizational structures develop and become entrenched
that all forms of organization, regardless of how democratic they may be at the start, will eventually and inevitably develop oligarchic tendencies, thus making true democracy practically and theoretically impossible, especially in large groups and complex organizations
oligarchy
rule of the elifte few comes about through very organization of bur itself
bur
depend on increased centralization of tasks as one moves up the heirarchy
many managers each which is coordinating centralizing a set of tasks
individuals who are responsible for coordinating coordinators most power and become oligarchy at top of structure
oligarchs are speciallized at management
one down to bur
workers will fight to maintain control over their task and their established way of carrying it out thus managers will defend their position at the top of the structure thereby firmly established and difficult or unlikely to change; ingrained entrenched the oligarchy
mere presence
people are simply in each otehr’s presence either completing simmilar activities or apparently minding their own business
most basic level of experience between members of society
mere presence and performance
people tend to perform simple well learned tasks better when other people are present
people’s color preferences are even stronger when they make judgments in the presence of others
social facilitation effect
only true for simple or practiced tasks
tendency for people to perform differently when in the presence of others than when alone. Compared to their performance when alone, when in the presence of others, they tend to perform better on simple or well-rehearsed tasks and worse on complex or new ones
explanation for social facilitation
presence of others stimulates arousal which serves to activate the dominant responses ( practiced responses that come most easily to us)
when completing easy and well practiced tasks, dominant responses are exactly what is called for , thus performance improves with arousal stimulated by the presence of others
when tasks are more complex dominant responsese are likely incorrect and thus performance decreases with arousal
overwhelming fear of evaluation
rduces performance een on behaviors that were previously automatic because self conciousness and doubt can lead to overanalysis
athletes struggle if they tend to overthink their body movements at criticla times
distraction
can divert our attention from tasks
cna be due to external events such as things others are doing or internal events such as our thoughts of what otehrs might be thinking or doing
deindividuation
people may lose sense of their restraint and individual identity in exchange for identifying with a group or mob mentality
lack of self awareness and disconnection of behavior from attitudes
higher degree of arousal and low sense of responsibilty
people may act in starlying ways , suprising themselves and thsoe who nnow them closely
factors which create ideal condition for deindividuation
group size
physical anonymity
arousing activities
all reduce self awareness and increase a sense of deindividuation
group size and deindividuation
larger groups create a diminished sense of identity and responsibility and may allow people to achieve anonymity by getting lost in the ground
physical anonymity and deindividuation
use facepaint , masks or costumes or communicating anonymously online makes one less identifiable
arousing activity and deindividuation
usually start with arousing activities that escalate
Kitty Genovese case
involved stabbing of a woman in NYC late at night
percieved lack of effort of neighbors to help her while she called for help
none called the police
reason provided is that everyone assumed somoene else has already called the police
bystander effect
finidng that person is likely to provide help when there are other bystanders
bystander effect occurs
because presence of bystanders creates a diffusion of responsibility - responsiblity to help others does not clearly reside with one person in the group
when in circumstances in whcih one is the only available to assist
one may be more likely to act
likelihood someone will stop to help is
inversely correlated with number of people around
social loafing
tendency for people to exert less effort if they are being evaluated as a group than if they are individually accountable
why social loafing occurs
because there can be less pressure on individuals as parts of a group on some tasks, leading to the tendency to take a little bit of free ride, get ting benefit from the group while putting less effort in than one might on one’s own
social facilitation
occurs when being in the group increases concerns over evalution
social loafing
occurs when being in a group decreases concerns over evaluation
group polarization
tendency of groups to intensify the preexxisting views of their members , the average view of a member in their group is accentuated
doe snot indicate the group becomes more divided on the issue
suggests entire group tends toward more extreme versions of average views they initially shared before discussion
two reasons why group polarization occurs
info influence
normative influence
info influence
in group discussion, most comon ideas to emerge are ones that favor the dominant viewpoint, this serves to persuade others to take stronger stanc toward this viewpoint and provides opportunity to rehearse and validate these similar opinions, further strengthening them
normative influence
based on social desirability wanting to be accepted or admired by others
if u want to identify with a particular group you may take a stronger stance than you initially would in order to better relate with and internalize the group’s belief section
social comparison
evaluation our opinions by comparing them to those of others
groupthink
state of harmony within a group because every1 is seemingly in a state of agreement , can lead to terrible decisons
manifests when certain factors come together
psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative viewpoints by actively suppressing dissenting viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences
groups at risk for group think
over friendly ad cohesive , isolated from dissentin opinons and have a directive leader whose deciosns everyone tends to favor
certain symptoms that ften point to presence of group think
group is overly optimistic of its capabilities and has unquestioned belief in its stances - an overestimation of might and right
group becomes extreme by justifying its own decisons while demonizing those of opponents
some members of group prevent dissenting opinions from permeating teh grou by filtering out info and facts that go against belief s of the group
pressure to conform so individuals censor their own opinions in favor of consensus which creates an illusion of unanimity
mindguard
member of a group who serves as an informational filter, providing limited information to the group and, consciously or subconsciously, utilizing a variety of strategies to control dissent and to direct the decision-making process toward a specific, limited range of possibilities
techniques used by mindguards
time pressure in regard to decision-making
• bandwagon effect/information cascades
• reframing situations to increase pressure toward or away from a specific outcome
• creating a sense that group cohesion will suffer if unanimity is lacking
bandwagon effect
whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, fads and trends increases the more that they have already been adopted by others. In other words, the bandwagon effect is characterized by the probability of individual adoption increasing with respect to the proportion who have already done so.[1] As more people come to believe in something, others also “hop on the bandwagon” regardless of the underlying evidence
deviance
violation of society’s standards of conducts or expections
behavros can range from smuggling drugs to being late for an interview
stigma
society often devalues deviant members by assigning demaning lables
an attribute, behavior, or reputation which is socially discrediting in a particular way: it causes an individual to be mentally classified by others in an undesirable, rejected stereotype rather than in an accepted, normal one
entire groups may be labelled
based on physical or behavioral activities
once identities have been assigned they can follow individuals and affect their lives
Solomon Arch
wanted to test effects of group pressure or peer pressure on individual behavior so he designed a series of simple experiments where subjects were asked to participate in a study on visual perception
arch experiment set up
subjcts were asked to determine which of three lines are most stimilar to the comparison line
there was one line that was clearly identical to the comparison line and the other two were clearly longe r
arch exp results
when complete alone, erred less than 1% of the time
when n room with several other people that they thought were also participating in the study but who were actually confederates , the results were quite different
on the first few tests all confederates responded correctly
after while confederates began choosing one of incorrect
In the confederate condition also, the majority of participants’ responses remained correct (63.2 per cent), but a sizable minority of responses conformed to the confederate (incorrect) answer (36.8 percent)
interesting arch exp
found more than 1/3 of subjects conformed to the group by answering incorrectly
they chose to avoid the discomfort of being different rather than trust their own judgment in answering
conformity
phenomenon of adjusting behavior or thinking bbased on behavior or h thinking of others
confederates
thy were part of the experiment but the subjects thought they were also participating in the study
The confederates knew the true aim of the experiment, but were introduced to the subject as other participants
Stanley MIlgram’s study set up
involved fake shocks
participants in this study believed that they were in control of equipment that delivered shocks to a student who was attempting to pass a memory test
no shocks were actually used
Stanley MIlgram’s procedure
researcher was in room and directed the participant to administer increasing levels of shock to this student, a confederate, by turning a dial whenever he or she incorrectly answered
only contact the participant with the student was to hear the student;s voice from the room
when shocks were given at particular levels, participants would hear moans, shouts of pain, pounding on walls and after that dead silence
MIlgram results
found participants in the study were suprisingly obedient to the researcher’s demands that they continue to administer shocks
out of 40 subjects few questioned the procedure before reaching 300 V and 26 of subjects continued all the way to the max of 450 V
speaks to the power of authority and discomfort that being disobedient invokes
three ways that behavior may be motivated by social influences
compliance
identification
internalization
compliance
compliant behavor is motivated by deisre to seek reward to avoid punishment
there is likely to be a punishment for disobeying authority
compliance is easily extinguished if rewards and punishments are removed
identification
motivated by desire to be like another person or group
participant who conformed to Asch’s experiment likely did not want to be disproved of for choosing a different answer than the rest of the group
endures as long as there is still a good relationship with person or group being identified with and there are not convincing alternative viewpoints presented
internalization
behavior is motivated by values and beliefs that have been integrated into one’s own value systems
someone who has internalized a value not to harm others may have objected to shocks administered in MIlgram’s study
most enduring motivation of the three
normative social influence
when motivation for compliance is desire for approval of others and avoid rejection
people conform because they want to be liked and accepted by others
often leads to public compliance but not ncessarily off private acceptance of social norms
informational social influence
process of complying because we want to do the right thing and we feel like others know something I don’t known
more likely to occur in new situations, ambbiguous or when an obvious authority figure is present
6 factors that affect conformity
group size
